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Gaston Reuter
Gaston Édouard Claude Reuter is a pure-blood wizard from Luxembourg who currently serves as the Professor of Magical Theory and Librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. Before his employment at the school, Reuter served in numerous roles including a director of Magical Law Enforcement, a writer, an editor, a government librarian, and a politician. He entered Hogwarts as a school librarian in February 2023 before being promoted to the role of Professor later the same month. Biography Early Life Gaston Reuter was born in 1976 to pure-blood parents Édouard Jean Reuter and Charlotte (née Juncker) Reuter at their family home near Diekirch, Luxembourg Diekirch, Luxembourg. His parents met at a national friendly Quiddich match in 1967 where Édouard was attending as a representative of the Luxembourg Council of Magic and Charlotte was attending in support of her brother Loïc Juncker, a chaser for the Bigonville Bombers. Unusually for pure-blood families, the Reuters have become fully integrated into muggle as well as magical society, which was necessary due to Luxembourg's small size. As a result, Gaston found it difficult to differentiate between the two worlds as a boy. One of his first showings of magic occurred when he fixed the car engine of his neighbour, the Mayor of the city, who was properly taken aback and had to be obliviated by the Ministry of Magic of Luxembourg. Although this gave him affection and appreciation for the muggle world, it took a long time for his father to impress upon him the importance of maintaining the secrecy of magic. Education Following the tradition of wizards from Luxembourg, Reuter attended the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, entering the school in 1987 and graduating in 1994. He was an excellent student in most subjects but he was especially talented in transfiguration and magical theory, winning the graduating class prizes in both of these subjects. He also graduated top of his class in charms ''and ''arithmancy ''but he demonstrated no natural ability for ''divination. ''Education at Beauxbatons shaped his personality in important ways with the school's education focused on developing a sense of public responsibility and emphasizing diplomacy and mediation as the most appropriate ways of dealing with conflict. Aside from his studies, Gaston's family encouraged him to educate himself broadly in politics and to gain a full appreciation of the muggle world. The families position in muggle society was marked by attendance at society functions and political events where he was expected to adopt a well-defined system of etiquette. This experience has shaped his personality to the present day. Due to the Reuters' heavy integration into the muggle world, Gaston's father was keen for him also have a muggle education. Following his graduation from Beauxbatons, he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy of Belgium where he completed a ''Bachelors in Social & Military Sciences, ''an extremely rare experience for pure-blood wizards. In addition to extensive military and diplomatic training, his education covered philosophy, languages, history, and political science. He served an an officer-cadet in the Army of Luxembourg and became active in both muggle and magical politics. He considers this knowledge to have been invaluable in the magical world, giving him different perspectives from many of his friends and colleagues. Career History Magical Law-Enforcement (1994-2011) His education made him well-suited to a career in Magical Law-Enforcement. After his muggle university graduation in 1994, Gaston entered this area within the Belgian Ministry of Magic. He briefly trained as an auror before transferring into the Department of Justice, working on wizarding trials concerning the use and restriction of dark magic. The combination of political experience, academic skill, and military discipline allowed him to excel in his career. Gaston moved back to his home country of Luxembourg in 2001 after being offered the position of Director of Magical Law Enforcement within the Luxembourgish Ministry. His career in Luxembourg was extremely successful and he was commended by the ''Groussminister (Executive Head of the Ministry) for implementing the Ministry's Campaign against Muggle-Born Abuse ''program. Building upon the achievements of his predecessors, Reuter's commitments aided in making Luxembourg into one of the safest countries for muggle-born members of the wizarding world. Despite this success, Reuter suddenly resigned from his position in March 2011, stating undisclosed personal reasons for his departure. Efforts were made to make him reconsider but he decided to leave the country permanently in September of the same year. He seldom talks about the reasons for his departure and numerous rumours have circulated as to the cause, including potential romantic tribulations and suggestions of a ministry cover up of him making one catastrophic error of judgement. Writing & Publishing (2011-2018) After leaving Luxembourg, Reuter found employment with ''Kristoffersen Wizarding Publishers in Norway where he became a writer and editor on the History of Magic in Northern Europe. Despite having little experience in this area, his writing became popular and highly praised with most of his publications focusing on the origin and development of muggle myths concerning the magical world and its history. The position gave him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe where he became well acquainted with numerous magical authors and government figures. It is rumored that he was invited to give a guest lecture at the Durmstrang Institute but this cannot be confirmed due to the School's emphasis on secrecy. Return to Luxembourg (2018-2019) After leaving his post in Norway, Reuter returned once again to Luxembourg where he was employed as Government Librarian to the Ministry. His return to the country was highly commended by his colleagues and he quickly gained a respected political reputation, despite his more humble position in the Ministry. The first month of his return was overshadowed by the death of his grandfather from whom he inherited a grandiose 18th century villa in Vianden which now serves as his home residence. In April 2018, Reuter was elected to the Luxembourg Council of Magic, the institution which forms the legislative element of the Luxembourg Ministry of Magic. Gaston's father was also re-elected for his third time in the same year and subsequently elected G''roussminister'' (Minister) by his fellow Councillors. Although he tried to resist holding a political office for most of his life, Reuter's decision to return to Luxembourg was influenced by pressure from his father to eventually take up a position on the Council. He was the youngest member of the Council at the time and his political intelligence and concern for justice made him popular amongst his colleagues. In 2021, he was invited to address the International Confederation of Wizards on the success of Luxembourg's strong protection for equality and safety for muggle-born wizards. Reuter was praised as one of his country's foremost proponents of muggle-born rights. To this day, however, he has remained secretive about his political past and it is not commonly known that he once occupied such an important political office. Beauxbatons Professor (2019-2023) The Luxembourg Council of Magic only convenes for part of the year, allowing Reuter to take up an additional professional position. In September 2019, he was appointed Professor of Transfiguration at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, fulfilling a lifelong goal of teaching at his former school. His teaching style was popular with students and he served in this position for almost four years. Reuter was known as a fair-minded teacher who treated students as adults and encouraged them to develop themselves as far as possible out of the classroom. He has a popular diplomatic approach to both student discipline and dealing with conflict between staff members. Due to his political respect, Reuter was advised to stand for re-election to the Luxembourg Council of Magic. His nominators suggested him as a promising candidate for Groussminister, the equivalent of the British Minister for Magic and Luxembourg's highest wizarding position. Although willing to remain a Councillor, Reuter had no desire to become Head of the Ministry. He decided to resign early from his Professorship and move abroad in order to consider his future course of action. The affair marked the end of his political career. Hogwarts Faculty School Year 2022 - 2023 Reuter was appointed as a Librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in February 2023. The position was a significant reduction in responsibility and salary compared to his distinguished role at Beauxbatons but it allowed him to rest and take time to consider his future career. His first few weeks at Hogwarts were marked by the suspicious atmosphere surrounding the disappearance of Headmistress Hannah Fisher and increasing Ministry influence over the school. Along with other new members of staff, Reuter was suspected of being a Ministry spy and he was openly confronted about this by students including Atara Ruben. The suspicious atmosphere proved problematic for maintaining the secrecy of his political office. On 20 February 2023, he traveled to London to meet with a follow Councillor in order to discuss the political situation at home. He returned to Hogwarts to find that the school had been taken over by the promiant Ministry judge Judy Dorchester under supposed invitation from the Board of Governors. The incident solidified his affection for the school and aided in his decision to stay permanently. He made extensive secret communication to the Council of Magic in order to ensure that another suitable candidate was found before publicly announcing his intention not to stand for re-election. He was subsequently appointed Professor of Magical Theory on 28 February 2023. Tensions at the school rose to an all time high when a Ghastly creature broke in through the library was scene to attack a group including Liliana Lemieux. The surprise of this attack greatly disturbed the Professor who was irritated at not having been there to prevent the incident. His defensive knowledge allowed him to fully secure the Library against future intrusions but he encountered unwarranted questioning from Arklin Owsley about the incident. Professor Gaston's mother died on 9th April 2013. The shock caused his father to suffer from a sudden heart attack and withdraw from his position at the Ministry altogether. His death fell only three days before the inauguration of the incoming Luxembourgish Minister of Magic. Between April 10th and April 16th, Reuter returned to Luxembourg once again in order to sort out the inevitable chaos caused by his father's retirement which resulted both in terms of personal upset and political upheaval. Once again, he faced persuasive calls to return to a Ministry position which he politely turned down. Returning to Hogwarts, he found an increasingly volatile atmosphere as suspicions rose as to why Dorchester had taken over the school under such a strict regime. Reuter became increasingly vocal with his colleagues about his opposition to the school administration. He secretly donated supplies to the Thornberry's, a group of students dedicated to smuggling more food for students who were suffering from the poor offerings Dorchester had supplied in the Great Hall. As it emerged that Dorcester and her goons were searching for Heart of Hogwarts, Reuter secretly allowed student Essa Nazari to enter the restricted section of the library to search for any further information about the legend. Headmistress Fisher returned following Dorchester's defeat at the close of the school year. Reuter attended the End of Year Feast before departing for Luxembourg three days later. He spent the summer in his grandfather's old baroque chateaux, transforming the house into his permanent residence. Personal Traits Personality His personality is heavily defined by his reputation for being restrained, formal, and aloof. As much as he dislikes it, his upper-class background is evident and he exudes the air of an eccentric gentleman scholar. He adheres to an outdated system of etiquette including clicking his heels and bowing his head when meeting somebody for the first time. His exceptional emotional composure is sometimes taken as pompousness making him stand out exceptionally compared to the generally more casual atmosphere at Hogwarts. His manner of speech is also formal and unnecessarily verbose. Despite this impression, Reuter is also highly intelligent, tolerant, charitable, kind, and sensitive, these qualities being especially evident in his approach towards students. He often goes out of his way to help students with queries and problems and actively keeps his eyes open for any problems which might affect the happiness of the school. Although he seldom demonstrates it publically, he has genuine concern for almost all students and feels greatly angered when even the most misbehaved ones experience difficulties and injustices. His composure does not prevent him from speaking his mind. After the Ministry took over the school under Chancellor Dorchester in 2023, he openly confronted both staff and students who supported the regime. He considers cowardice, insensitivity, and unthinking respect for authority to be extremely detestable qualities. Reuter is extremely private, seldom open to discussing details of his personal life and showing a distrust of journalists. He has a strong dislike of the British Ministry of Magic which he considers to be elitist, self-serving and undemocratic in comparison to its counterpart in Luxembourg. At odds with his military training and career in law-enforcement, with age he has become mellow, sensitive, and even a little rebellious. Appearance Reuter is a tall man with an average build and neatly parted brown hair. He has blue-grey eyes and normally has light stubble on his face. The Professor has a smart but eccentric sense of style. Most of his outfits take the form of impeccably tailored three-piece suits made from tweed or thick wool. He also has an extensive number of cloaks and overcoats. Attached to his coat or waistcoat, he always carries a heavy pocket watch. These clothes give him the appearance of an eccentric muggle aristocrat and he manages to merge into this kind of muggle environment, staying at expensive hotels when he needs to visit London and other cities. When he first arrived at Hogwarts, his appearance gave the impression of a once attractive man who no longer saw any reason to maintain his youthfulness or fashionableness. It is rumored that this was due to his feeling a need to escape from memories of his youth. Reuter once wore pince-nez spectacles which had light gold frames. These were impractical and using them forced him to have a severe expression with a furrowed brow most of the time. In recent months, he has taken effort to ensure a much more modern and fashionable appearance and purchased a more useful pair of spectacles at the insistence of Professor von DrachBlume. Attitudes • Pureblood 'Cringe': Reuter often demonstrates a dislike for the privileges of his pureblood background. He actively criticises wizards who promote the importance of blood heritage and tends to cringe when asked about the matter. His grandfather, despite demonstrating no personal prejudice towards muggles or muggle-borns, thought that maintaining pureblood family ties was important for the privacy and safety of the magical world. His father argued this view came from him unintentionally adopting the bias that muggles were somehow untrustworthy, resulting in arguments between the father and son. For this reason, Reuter becomes noticeably uncomfortable when the question of blood is raised. • Magical 'Conservatism': Reuter believes that magic should be used responsibly and only for productive purposes. He shows disapproval of using jinxes to retaliate or respond to disagreements, considering this behaviour to be "beneath the dignity of the magical world" and only justified for strictly defensive reasons. His broader view is that it is equivalent to muggles using physical violence or practical jokes and he shows little tolerance for this behaviour by staff or students. In his view, students should be taught to use magical in a restrained and enterprising way which helps to improve the lives of themselves and others. • Approach to Teaching: 'He strongly believes in treating students as adults unless he has reason to do otherwise and his teaching style emphasizes encouraging the self-discipline of the student rather than the overbearing authority of the Professor. Although some Hogwarts Professors find this approach to be too easy-going, it is the standard attitude promoted at Beauxbatons Academy, where students are encouraged to develop their own sense of decorum and civic responsibility. He has a reputation for serving tea to his students during classes. Skills & Abilities '• Transfiguration: Having served previously as Professor of Transfigurstion at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, it is evident that he has advanced skill in this subject. He is able to perform complex transfigurations nonverbally with ease and he is particularly skilled at changing inanimate objects into conscious living creatures. His advanced understanding of Magical Theory likely aids him in successfully practicing the precise nature of transfiguration. Interestingly, however, Reuter is not a registered animagus and it is unknown whether he has ever taken on an animal form. • Magical Theory: His current teaching subject and one of his greatest passions, Reuter has an advanced appreciation of extremely subtle questions of magical practice, particularly the limits of magic and the fundamental principles of spell casting in charms and transfigurstion. He is especialy interested in the metaphysical aspects of the subject, focusing on the fundamental nature of magic and the ability of the wizard to channel it into practical use through the careful synthesis of academic skill, psychological state, and situational factors. • Defensive Abilities: Reuter spent his early years working in Magical Law Enforcement where he developed excellent defensive duelling skills. This ability often take his opponents by surprise. Many do not expect a middle-aged "poncey"-looking man with poor eyesight to be able to nonverbally cast advanced defensive spells without any difficulty. Unknown to many, he is surprisingly physically fit and professionally trained in muggle physical defensive. • Flying: In his youth, he was a skilled flyer and served for two years as a chaser during his school years at Beauxbatons. He is the nephew of Loïc Juncker, former chaser for the Bigonville Bombers, who taught him to fly during his summers. He no longer flies due to deteriorating eyesight and a middle aged desire for a more comfortable and less energetic life. • Languages: Reuter is fluent in English which he learned during his time in Norway. He is also fluent in his native languages of French and Luxembourgish and he often slips into these languages accidentally. He also learned German as a boy as it was the primary written language of his parents generation. However, his ability to speak it has deteriorated due to his living abroad and he now only has a limited understanding of the language. Possessions • Wand: Rosewood, Dragon Heartwood, 7.25 inches, unyeilding. His wand has an elegant design produced from smooth, darkened rosewood. It is also delicately carved and decorated with gold leaf and a large ruby. The wand is indicative of the family's wealthy position and it was most likely custom made based on a more standard design. Although it is unusually short in length, Reuter does not conform to the tendency for shorter wands to be indicative of stunted moral character. His father jokes that it probably chose him more to match his suits than his personality. • Pocket Watch:'' Class Prize for Transfiguration''. This unusual watch is one of his most valued possessions and was given to him informally by his Professor of Transfiguration upon graduation from Beauxbatons. Whether or not it is a transfigured object is not known and this question is seldom asked. • Signet Ring:'' Inherited family heirloom''. The Reuter family has traditionally worn signet rings as a symbol of their history and position and the Professor's has been inherited from his grandfather. The ring is made from silver with the family crest encased in an unusual amber cover. As he is left-handed, it is worn on his less dominant right hand for the sake of convenience. • Magical Memos & Owl:'' Preferred methods of communication''. Reuter seldom uses an Owl to carry messages. Instead, he has a seemingly unlimited supply of memos similar to the kind used for interdepartmental communication at the British Ministry of Magic. Reuter's memos are soft blue and white with a distinctive red and gold seal featuring a lion. The Professor does own a small pygmy Owl called Esme who carries more long-distance letters if needed. Relationships • Arianna von DracheBlume:'' Hogwarts colleague and friend''. Von DracheBlume and Reuter have become very close and supportive friends despite having entirely different backgrounds and personality types. The two Professors became closely acquainted by means of their mutual dislike of Dorchester's administration in Academic Year 2022/23. Gaston has enormous respect for Arianna's passion for the welfare of her students and shares her attitudes towards teaching. • Liliana Lemieux:'' Hogwarts colleague and friend''. Reuter holds Professor Lemieux in high regard due to her sensitive nature and her bravery against the Library attack in March 2023. The two Professors have grown to become close friends. In recent rumours, Gaston acted as a support (or bodyguard) for Liliana when she encountered some trouble with a fellow Professor, Arklin Owsley. • Arklin Owsley:'' Hogwarts colleague and acquaintance''. Reuter and Owsley share a slightly adversarial but respectful relationship. The two men have entirely different teaching styles and Reuter actively dislikes many of his colleague's attitudes towards students and his support for Dorchester's school administration. Nontheless, they share respect for each other's abilities and share a mutual dislike of instrusion into their personal lives which has kept them on amicable terms. Category:Professors Category:Staff Category:Hogwarts Category:Librarian